Ueli Maurer, president of the Swiss People's Party SVP, smiles in front of a campaign poster reading "create security", during a press conference in Bern, Switzerland, in this July 13, 2007 file picture.... (Associated Press)

(Newser)
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Using the image of three white sheep kicking a black sheep out, Switzerland’s biggest political party has begun a campaign to institute mandatory deportation of criminal immigrants and their families. Though critics compare the proposal to Hitler and Stalin practices, the party is expected to prevail in October elections. "We haven't had any complaints," said the party president.

The policy has drawn fire from some quarters, however, with one newspaper writing in an editorial seeking to galvanize backlash: "This way of thinking shows an obvious blood-and-soil mentality." The party had success in 2004 with a similar campaign that showed black hands reaching into a pot filled with Swiss passports. It also wants to ban the construction of minarets and weaken anti-racism laws.